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Angels and Demons by TalesofSpike
 
Chapter 2.01
 
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Note: Thanks to my beta t_geyer for her unending patience, perseverance and support.

SECTION 2 - TUBULAR BELLS (The theme from 'The Exorcist')

Instrumental

(Mike Oldfield - Album - Tubular Bells)




Chapter 2.01
Sunday, May 26th, 2002


"Spike, you're hearing, but you're not listening. We're talking about Aleister Crowley, Marie Laveau... that sort of powerful spell caster, not some twenty-something kid that can't even control herself."

Buffy shook her head. "If anyone can do it, Willow can. What we need to worry about is whether she would , and whether she should . I'm not convinced, if it's as risky as Bee thinks, that we even have a right to ask her to try."

"The witch managed a resurrection spell," Spike informed the shorter, bustier blonde. "A true resurrection spell, not a ghoul, or a zombie, but an actual think-for-herself resurrection. By my reckoning, that puts her up there with your notables, and it wouldn't be the first time she's gone head to head with a god. Can't say as she won first time around, but she got out of it alive.

And as to whether we should ask her or not, I'm guessin' Red would get pissed off if you were to start making all her decisions for her. I reckon she'd do it, too, for the exact reason she shouldn't."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"If she did it because it was the right thing to do... If she really believed she was risking her own life or well-being to help another, then, that curse demon bint's mate put on 'er would reverse at least a bit, wouldn't it? 'Cause it would be a selfless act. Red won't see it like that though, not now. Maybe Blue's age thing might have knocked the shine off of her feeling of invincibility. She might actually be beginning to realise that she can't do whatever she wants without there being any consequences, but I think she's probably still arrogant enough to think, given her gifts that she'll be able to do it for free. She'll do it just to prove she can. Like the sweetie over there says, if she pulls it off, that would put her in some very elite company, kinda like the spell caster's equivalent of winning a Nobel Prize. We've all had things to say about her spell casting of late an' how she cocks stuff up because she doesn't think it through, because she doesn't give magic the respect it deserves. Lord knows, her an' glow-in-the-dark Barbie, over there, have never been best mates, so it's not like that's goin' to give her an incentive, but to prove us wrong..."

"And if it..." Buffy couldn't even bring herself to put her friend's death into words.

"If it kills her?" Dawn asked from the corner where she had been teaching Connor how to play rummy. "Then, maybe her death actually achieves something worthwhile, rather than her ageing herself into her grave by stages, trying to magic the world and everyone around her to be how she wants them."

Angel cleared his throat, knowing that hadn't really been all that was worrying Buffy. If Spike's assessment was correct, then asking Willow to help was almost like being responsible for signing her death warrant. "I'll ask her. There's less pressure on her to accept that way than if Buffy were to ask her."

"Em," Bee hesitated to interrupt but she did feel that something else had been forgotten. "Not to spoil all your plans here, but aren't you still short a coven?"

Spike grinned. "I think we can work out something that'll approximate. Bigger the better, huh?"

"I guess... I mean there has to be a limit to how much power the focal caster can draw through herself without... well... but up to that limit, more is better."

The blond's gaze turned to his grandsire. "I'm going to borrow your office for a while. I've got some calls to make. Why don't you an' your little firefly see if she can actually sit in a moving car as opposed to the car going through her? Or maybe she can just will herself up to Sunnyhell? Seems to me, if it's gonna get done, that's the place to do it."

The vampire took Buffy by the hand, leading her into the office with him. "Figure we might need to do some negotiating on this one, pet."

As they departed, Bee called after them. "You're not going to get this all set up before sundown, are you?"

"Doubtful, pet. Why?"

"It should be easier in daylight, preferably noon... And from a purely personal view point, my life wouldn't be worth living if I came all the way to LA without going to visit a certain lady, goes by the name of grandma."








"Willow?" Angel found it hard to believe his eyes when he saw the girl he had known. If it weren't for the eyes he would never have believed it was the same person. Her face was heavy with wrinkles and her auburn sixties style bob looked like a nylon wig, one that might have belonged to her grandmother. The sweats she wore strained at the seams although they had previously belonged to her mother and even though Buffy and Spike had tried to prepare him, they hadn't been witness to the latest ravages wrought by the curse.

"You know, I'm thinking about changing that legally so that you spell it with a question mark at the end." Instead of humour she imbued her reply with bitterness. "What do you want?"

"I- well, I need a favour."

"If you want me to watch Buffy for you again, that would be kinda hard seeing as I'm not allowed in her house any more."

"It's nothing to do with Buffy. I need a magic user, an extremely powerful magic user."

"Haven't you heard? I'm just an arrogant amateur."

"What I heard was that if the ritual needed a mage on a par with Crowley or Laveau then you were the person to see."

Willow's eyes narrowed as if she suspected she were being manipulated. "Who told you that?"

"Does it matter? Are they right?" the vampire asked. "Right now, I have to say you don't look so..."

"I might look old, but my magic is just as strong as it ever was. What is the spell?"

"Not so much a spell. It's an exorcism... and you would be exorcising something not too far removed from a god."

The witch seemed to consider for a brief time. "It can't be done by one person alone."

"No, we can provide the back up, but the bulk of the burden needs to fall on one person. From what I've heard it's likely to be very dangerous for that person."

"If they weren't up to it, yes, it would be, but if you get me spell casters with enough power to do the job, then I'll get it done."

Angel nodded. "I'll arrange for someone to pick you up at eleven tomorrow morning and take you over to The Magic Box. If you don't think the people we find are up to the job then no one will think any less of you if you back out."

"No one except me," Willow replied.






Monday, May 27th, 2002




"Where's Buffy?" Wes looked past Dawn as she opened the door.

"Watching Spike make breakfast," the teenager supplied with a roll of her eyes.

Before the teenager had even finished speaking, Wes strode off in the direction of the kitchen.

"Do you know anything about this?" the brunette demanded, slamming down the piece of paper he'd been clutching in his hand in front of Buffy. "The slip that came with it said, 'Compliments of Miss Summers'."

Buffy stared at it for several seconds before she responded. "Darn! If that is after taxes, I'm definitely on the wrong side of this gig." When Wes didn't seem to see the funny side she explained further. "Name the largest group of magic users in California."

"I don't see..."

"Tara has managed to round up some of the Wiccans from university. Giles is supposed to be working on some sort of long distance thing with that coven he hangs out with in Devon, but the biggest collection of magic users in Sunnydale right now is the Council. Quentin wouldn't play ball unless I agreed to have a full time watcher again, submitting regular reports and making me train regularly and do assessments and stuff. I told him I'd settle for two part-time watchers, of my choosing, on full-time salary, to be paid retroactively.

I can understand if you don't want any more to do with him, but if I were you, I'd take that and cash it, send Quentin a couple of reports and then, if you still have a problem with it, you can hand in your notice. At the very least, play along until after the ritual to fumigate Cordelia."

With a sigh, Wes pulled out a stool and took a seat next to her and Spike took it as a signal that the discussion was over. He set a plate crammed with bacon, eggs and other fried stuff in front of Buffy and one at the empty space beside her before he called Dawn and returned to the cooker. "You had breakfast yet or not? I was going to take a plate up for Tinkerbell, but I can do her a fresh one."








The gathering was unconventional to say the least. Teenaged Wiccans rubbed shoulders with sombre-suited watchers in The Magic Box's training room. Several of the council members were watching the group in the corner with a range of emotions, of which the least hostile was suspicion. Angel glowered back, but Spike grinned and blew cigarette smoke toward them as if he hadn't a care in the world. Buffy leaned back against the vaulting horse, on which he was perched, his knees either side of her. Dawn sat next to him and glared daggers at anyone who dared even think less than friendly thoughts concerning her family. Fred stood next to Angel, perplexed by the whole atmosphere. "Don't they know you've got a soul now?"

Cordelia, who was no longer constantly glowing but still incorporeal, gave a rueful grimace. "They're watchers. It's sorta their job not to care." She leaned toward Buffy, whispering in the slayer's ear. "They don't know that I'm part demon," she stated before a little bit of doubt crept in. "Do they?"

"Why ever would we have wanted to mention that ?" Buffy asked.

The door from the main shop opened yet again and most of the room looked over to see if it was the person they were waiting for. Instead, Giles gave Buffy a tentative smile and began to jostle his way towards them.

Buffy met him a little over half way, pulling Spike behind her. The slayer wrapped her arms around the grey-haired man, searching his face. "Are you okay?" she asked too quiet for any human other than him to hear.

"Surprisingly so. Which I think goes to prove that Olivia and I were right to split up..."

"Well, you can come over tonight and eat ice cream, anyway. I thought you were going to try some long distance spell casting thing?"

"One of the women came up with an alternative. Let's just say I didn't arrive by 747 and it's a good thing Anya shut the shop." A glance over Buffy's shoulder brought another smile to his face and the blonde couple made way for the new arrival to greet his other former pupil. "Cordelia, I don't think I've seen you since graduation."

"Geez, Giles, I'm guessing when Buffy went off to college you quit training, huh?

I might have been tempted to see if that British reserve could cope with a hug, but it's not really possible, yet."

"So I hear. Did Wesley find any changes when he did the spell this morning?"

"Apparently, I'm slightly less ghosty this morning, but other than the glowing not being all the time, it's not like it's exactly noticeable. He said the thing might have grown slightly, or it could just be in a different position. The good news is it's still not dug in. He's not going to take part in the ritual, so that he has the power to check again at the end to see whether it's all gone."

"Are you going to be alright with this?"

Cordelia gave a snort. "In comparison to being possessed by an evil demi-god thing or having my head chopped off? I'll cope."

"Tara?" the watcher inquired, looking round for the Wiccan.

"Exam." Buffy shrugged. "It's not like she doesn't think it's important, but she can hardly afford to take the course again either. She finishes at half past twelve and she's coming straight here, but I'm thinking that we should have enough power to do the ritual without her."

Giles scanned the room. "Yes, I rather suspect, you do. At least, you will once Willow makes it here. Is that that awful woman, who came with Quentin last time, talking to Wesley?"

"Yes, but maybe not so awful."

Xander's inane babbling sounded unfeasibly loud as the room quieted. The carpenter froze in the middle of the doorway that led to the alley with a feeling of paranoia, but everyone's attention was focused on the woman he was with, rather than him. Some of the Wiccans had seen or heard of her brief appearances on campus. None of Quentin's entourage had expected anything other than a twenty-one year old. Their shocked silence was immediately followed by a burble of mutterings.

Travers made his way toward Buffy, with an expression of consternation on his face. "You never mentioned that your friend was... impaired. This casts a whole different light on the matter."

"She's not impaired. She's old. I've seen nothing to suggest that it affects her magical abilities, and it's not as if all your people are under forty, either. Perhaps you would rather call our deal off?"

Travers gaze travelled up and down, checking not the slayer's figure but her body language, looking for a sign as to whether she was bluffing, but in truth Buffy would almost have been glad if the council backed out. She would be free of any obligation to them, her friend would be saved from her own rash judgement and no one would be able to say that she hadn't tried.

Finally, the watcher refused the chance to back out. "No, I think we would be remiss in our duty if we weren't to attempt to free this poor girl from her infliction."

"Most remiss," Willow drawled from just behind him. "And, Cordelia, I can't help but think if you had told someone back in first grade that you were possessed it would have saved us all from twelve years of misunderstandings. You see, we all just thought you were a total bitch."
 
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